How Did This All Happen Anyway? This is the blog that takes you through the Journey of Writing "Blindsided By Healing"–currently in production. This blog is for those of you who either have or want to encourage me and my efforts to complete and publish my story of Hope, Healing and Redemption. It is a journey and even if you don't know my story, you'll learn here–and you will walk with me during the journey of getting this labor of love (the hardest thing I've ever done) finished and published.

Where does time go? Seriously, how does 11 years just fly by like it is only one trip around the sun? Yesterday marked 11 years since I got off of the plane from Toronto after fleeing the states when I left my home and most of my belongings. That was the safest place for me. But when it came time to fly home I was ready to move on with life. As I walked through customs and out the double doors of that airport, the warm February Tampa air hit me. I was home. At least near home anyway. Something inside of me clicked—and the monsters that awaited me on the outside of that airport would not, at least for awhile, phase me.

I often wonder what “happened” inside of me that made me leave. I wonder why I am not part of the statistic that a victim of domestic violence will go back on average 7 times before finally leaving, if alive that long. I wonder what made me make the decision to move to Clearwater, or what made me go to that big church on the corner, or even get up every morning in those early days. But I don’t wonder those things very long. Somewhere along the line, somebody reminded me of my Hope.

This morning, I woke up to the news of Billy Graham’s passing. As I watched the nonstop coverage, I thought only one thing: “that man was an ambassador of Hope”. He preached the ultimate Hope to hundreds of thousands of people over his long life; and while not so active in the latter years, even his presence on this planet made life seem a little “better”. Certainly, if Billy Graham could be used by God in, can’t I? Billy Graham’s God did not run out on Hope when it was time for my dance card to be stamped. My mind then began to visit places such as this:

–“Um, are we the grown ups now?”

–“Who will be Billy Graham?”

–“Who will be an ambassador or Hope?”

And just like that a Bible verse I memorized in Sunday school came to mind:

“And the Lord said, ‘Who will I send, and who will go for us’. Then said I, here am I, send me” Is 6:9

Now, I know that I am no Billy Graham, but Billy Graham and I share the same God, with the same Hope of a painless eternal life, and the same Hope to live in a world that can be described as nothing short of heart shattering.

What if, on social media, we all sought out ways to bring Hope to those who need it? I spend an inordinate amount of time on social media, and I often think I am wasting time (and most the time I am) but then there are these moments. Moments when you get to bring a smile to somebody’s face just because you cared enough to remind them of the Hope that is within them. What if? What if in real interactions (if we even have those anymore) we did the same? What if we put our phones down, what if we shut our laptops, what if we put our Kindle’s down, what if we put our PRIDE down and looked for ways to bring Hope to so many that need it? What if?

I can tell you the answer to that question. Somebody, maybe somebody like the early days me, will cling to that Hope and their life will be changed forever. Because that is what Hope does. Hope tells you that there are all the tomorrow’s you are ever supposed to get, and the one that you are not supposed to get is better anyway. Hope says “just because it was that way then doesn’t mean it is that way now”. Hope is a soothing balm to hearts held together by tape and superglue. What I was given in the way of practical friendships altered the course of my life forever. Those early years were hard, but I had people, I had a VILLAGE of people. I could look into the eyes of these people and see that they had a light that I wanted. And they just stayed. So, as I think of the great loss of Billy Graham, I am reminded by the great loss of one of my good friend’s grandmother today as well. And finally, even though I knew it was coming, my former pastor and foster parent went to be with Jesus today as well. I felt like somebody punched me in the stomach.

And then there is that word again.

Hope.

Paul said “For me to live is Christ, to die is gain”. As Christians we no doubt look forward to that day when there will be no more pain, no more sorrow, and no more tears. But until then, we live here. And here needs Hope. Here needs you.

These two pictures are almost 11 years to the day apart. The light in my eyes, the ones devoid of light 11 years ago, we call that Hope.

It is hard to imagine how the light can be gone from the eyes of a 14- year old kid, but I am here to tell you, I don’t remember ever having light in my eyes, but on this day, everything I’d hoped for was gone.

My hopes of a world where I would have a family were gone; or so it seemed. Faith Children’s Home was a home that housed 18 boys and 18 girls. As much as they tried to not make it an institution, it had to be sometimes. We were not allowed to open the refrigerator and grab food or drink-we had to wait for the time when everyone ate and drank. We slept with 5 other girls in the same room. If you were lucky (and I was) you only had to share a bathroom with those 5 girls and not an additional 6 younger girls. These were things that made me cry myself to sleep in those early days.

I was a foster kid before finally ending up at the children’s home. I was very fortunate and only had one foster home; and they were good people. But, it did not matter how good they were, they were not equipped to meet the needs of a throw away kid. When a parent abandons their child like mine did, there is a special kind of brokenness that serves as a dark cloud, filled with unpredictable precipitation, over that life forever. My foster parents did the best they could, but in the end, the children’s home was a good decision for me. But for 18 months, I got a taste of what a mom and dad felt like, I had my own bed (a first) and understood what a normal meal schedule was like. I was not required to work for my basic needs, I was allowed to be a kid. I went to slumber parties, I “played” sports, I had a first boyfriend complete with the first broken heart– but with a mom to help me through it.

So, the day I was dropped off at the children’s home was the death of all of that; and that would eventually be ok, but those early days, I truly saw no hope for a normal life. I was to remain at the children’s home for 1,090 days, also known as my 18th birthday. That was the only future I could see, in exactly 2 years and 6 months, I would leave this place, and enter a world that I was prepared to fight for the rest of my life, just as I had for the entirety of my life.

Then the day came when these people, one by one, chipped away at my shattered, ragamuffin heart. And suddenly, I could see past the days that remained before I became a legal adult and would age out of the system. I could see good things in my future. My visions of a better future were weaker than faith but just as strong as hope. I knew in my heart that God had better things for me. I believed that then and I believe that now, because He told us as much in the Bible, but more importantly with the price He paid so that I could envision a future filled with Hope.

As time would pass, this place became the fabric of my heart, and that heart was no longer shattered, and had left its ragamuffin status in healing dust. And when I graduated from high school, as the class valedictorian, my speech was all about Hope, and a future where God would complete what He started (Phil 1:6). I left the children’s home just shy of the 1,090 days, but I was to return after a few weeks with my mom, which is a whole other story.

I remained there well into college. I worked in the office, traveled with the kids while going to college on a full ride scholarship. The promise I spoke of in my speech seemingly was the truth, like for real, the truth! He was, in fact, continuing the good work He started in me, not the day I got a forever family, but the day He made me in His image. And when I earned my degree, I was fully aware that this was not something that EVER should have happened, nor was it in my visions of a future filled with hope for my life. I had low standards of God. I would have been good with breathing air. But on May 7, 1994, I graduated from Clearwater Christian College with a decent degree, and every reason to believe that my future was still filled with hope.

As it would turn out, it was not quite that simple. And my definition of hope was blown away to an unrecognizable heap of smothering rubble.

The drive over the bridge from Tampa to Clearwater has always been one of my favorite drives. To say it is beautiful is a bit of an understatement. Sweeping 360 degree views of the beautiful, often transparent, blue water of the Gulf of Mexico has caused me more than one time to take my eye of the road. The sun glimmering off the water can be blinding but yet it is impossible to take your eyes off of those sparkles in that beautiful body of water.

I remember the first time I drove that drive. I was 18 years old and I was headed to my first year at Clearwater Christian College. The college was also nestled on the water, and the beach about 12 miles away. As soon as I drove on that campus, I knew I’d found my place. While accepted into just about wherever I wanted to go, this was it and I knew it from the time I drove onto that campus for the interview. I was also granted a full ride scholarship so there was that!

Yesterday, for the first time since the college closing in 2015, I drove onto campus (recently purchased by another college) and as I rounded that corner that I so often took on two wheels at a high rate of speed in college because I was always late, a man stepped out in front of me and held his hand up, refusing my request to merely drive around. As I turned my head to back up, all that I noticed was that all of the buildings were gone. Everything about that campus that made it recognizable was gone. Leveled. I was devastated.

As I visit the images in my mind of rubble, dirt, noise and my rude security guy, the word that first came to my mind was “hopeless”—if a college that was open for 50 years can close, why do I have any reason to believe that there is anything that will stick? And I felt that expectant Greek word—“hope” drain from my heart. It hit me harder than I thought it would, and as I drove off I imaged that pile of rubble and how so many of us must feel that way as we visit seasons of our lives that are those of “tearing down” or never “building up”—you know those days, months and sometimes years that it seems that everything you ever had and loved is gone or the things you want just will never come to pass.

I immediately remembered my own speech (attached below) at the final closing ceremonies at the college. That day reminded me of a verse that almost every professor taught me. My life up until that point was void of hope and this college put this verse in my heart and it never left.

I Peter 3:15b

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect”

I began thinking about this verse and it’s meaning when I was 20 years old and in college, or 35 years when I taught it to my high school students, or now when the necessity to give a reason for the Hope that is within all of us is at an all time high.

The word “hope” in this verse is interchangeable with faith or trust. “To look forward, usually with pleasure or anticipation. To have faith that something will come to pass”

So what does that mean, exactly, for those of us who have hoped for many things in life, often with great expectation, or the faith that our hopes will come to pass; what happens when it doesn’t come to pass? We all have these things in our lives; everyone can name numerous times disappointment and dashed hopes consume our emotions. It is confusing when those things don’t come to pass in the way or time frame we want them to happen, if at all.

But here is the thing, and I write this to myself with all love and compassion as much as anyone who will read this.

Why are we so focused on our earthly hopes instead of the Hope that is within us? Why aren’t we telling the world about the Hope that is in form of Jesus and the price that He paid for us on the cross? Because the reality is this Hope has already been fulfilled. Sure, we look forward with great expectation of seeing Jesus, but we get to live on this planet with a sure knowledge that there is a Hope already realized in our lives and I want to learn to abide in that. I want that to be my “go to” word when life feels hopeless…and that is an important question, “feels”–because of that Hope within us, and the promise of eternity, life isn’t hopeless.

Focusing on this Hope has eternal consequences. While I believe God to be a God that wants us to live an abundant life- I think in doing that it is important for us to remember why we have that abundant life, even when it doesn’t feel abundant. Or maybe we can figure out how to take advantage of the freedoms that we have because of this HOPE that is explains the power within us.

Did Jesus hope for pain to go away? In the garden, right before he paid the price on the cross, He asked that the cup of crucifixion be passed from Him. He asked this 3 times! Do you think that in some way he hoped that the Father would deliver Him? None of us can ever understand that kind of “betrayal”—and even worse the Father had to turn His back from Jesus, when that day became night, and our Lord was crucified on a cross–a cross made from a tree that was part of His creation.

But what does that mean for us? After all, we are flawed human beings, with natural hopes and dreams; disappointment is going to happen. Hope is going to be deferred. And we are going to be sad- often for years, if we aren’t careful. And I know that our God understands that and doesn’t stand in judgment of our human feelings when life tries to rob the laughter from our core, the smile from our faces and the hope from our hearts.

As I’ve meditated on this verse, I wonder if the healing balm to our hope deferred on this planet and all the pain that goes with that is reminding ourselves of the ETERNAL Hope that we have and this Hope explains the power within us. This Hope trumps anything we could ask or think for ourselves! A mindfulness exercise of sorts, meditating on this precious promise that we do have a reason for the Hope that is within us, and that Hope is Jesus. Furthermore, let’s not forget the rest of that verse, especially in the global climate of today.

When we have the opportunity to share the reason for the hope that is within us, we should do so with gentleness and respect. That means not ostracizing those who may believe differently from us. We know people are watching us. Are they watching us deal with earthly hope deferred? Are they watching us work that out in our faith? Do they see us land at a peaceful place where we know that God orchestrates our lives and sometimes hope deferred is His way of protecting us?

It all comes down to one question.

Do you believe in the sovereignty of God? Do you believe in His character? Do you have a reason for the Hope that is within you?

These are all good questions and ones that I hope address in this series.

For now though, it soothes my soul to know that there is an unshakable, unmovable Hope that is within me. And that Hope is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. So, as hope gets deferred, it is my prayer that HOPE will be my first thought—the Hope that never will leave me or forsake me.

And when the ruble is there; and the familiar is gone-like it was for me on campus yesterday; turn around—because when I did that, I saw the beautiful Gulf of Mexico. And I realized that nothing I could ever hope for myself could speak that beautiful body of water into existence.

How much more does He love us? Turn around, what’s there?

Here is the link to the video of my speech where I had the opportunity to tell my story and speak about his verse.

Almost all of my professional career, I have worked for myself. This isn’t as exciting as some people think, as being the “man” versus working for the “man” is just a different form of stress. A good majority of people can’t work for themselves. They lack the insanity that it takes to take that step and throw all caution to the wind. One thing that is common across entrepreneurial platforms is a belief that you can generate work that generates money that pays not only yourself, but also those who work for you. This burden is not for the faint of heart, and really requires a positive, upbeat, head in the clouds kind of person. If an entrepreneur over-thinks the risks, they will crumble under the uncertainty of the next paycheck.

Essentially, I “hope” that business is there and can support all those that count on it. I have good reason for this “hope”. The best reason is that history has proven itself for now over 20 years. So, because history has proven that I have reason to hope, I rarely struggle with the risk, because it has always been okay, I have no reason to believe that it won’t now.

“Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what He has promised, He confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this Hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” Hebrews 6:17-19

I have seen and experienced some miracles in my life, for sure. I have seen Him work in ways and provide in ways that I could have NEVER imagined. He has proven Himself faithful to me over and over, yet, life still beats me up and the first thing to go is my faith in the Hope that is set before me. Therefore, I am not encouraged. Discouragement or disappointment are among the strongest of human emotions. It can be hard to come back when we get our heads out of the game.

We have a rule in our little company and that rule is to always believe the best in each other. My employees and contractors work remotely, so it is feasible that my people won’t physically see each other except for the occasional retreat for over a year. But, for the most part, they communicate on email, text and the occasional meeting. It is easy to misunderstand the intentions or the actions of another when all you do is communicate via the written word. When things are tough, if we aren’t careful, we can get frustrated with each other, causing tension that is not conducive of a healthy workplace. So, our general rule is to believe the best of the person and to assume that there is information we do not have. This is almost always the case, and so assuming or believing the best of each other stops hurt feelings and generally speaking, potential issues are addressed before bitterness and resentment can take root.

I wonder why we don’t give God the same benefit of the doubt? Why don’t we believe the best of Him? I think we all agree that He is mysterious and it’s easy to misunderstand Him. It’s easy to forget precious promises like this one, the Hope that is set before us will encourage us. We don’t grab it; we think He is a magic man behind the curtain with draw- strings that He pulls as He wills. He certainly does what He pleases, but what if we believed the best in God and believed that when He said that He couldn’t lie, that all of His promises are true? These promises have us covered with all the things that preclude us from taking advantage of Hope, the one that is set before us; all we have to do is, believe. He promises to never leave us. He promises to provide for us. He promises wisdom. He promises comfort. He simply is everything that we need, and that is the real Hope.

So, why don’t we take advantage of this Hope? Just like in business, God has proven Himself many times to me. Why do I let life beat me up and steal my ability to hope in Him; because hoping in Him is the ONLY thing we have that will NEVER fail. Why is it easy for me to believe the best in people, yet a battle to believe the best in the all- powerful God?

It is a valid question, and is also a vital question that demands an answer. I can’t live the life that He has provided for me if I don’t trust Him and if I don’t put my hope in Him. The only way for my short- term memory issues to be fixed is to keep Him in front of me at all times. Like a deer panting for the water, I have to thirst for His Word and need to be reminded of His promises. Because when I do that, the truth of His omnipresence and His omnipotence sits fresh on my heart like morning dew on a flower. It is new every morning; the promises seem new with every circumstance. I can close my well-torn Bible that has gotten me thus far, and hold my head high because I know that because He can’t lie, I can put my trust in Him. I can remember the qualities of a sovereign God Who has never left me; has never failed to provide for me; and Who always has my best interest in mind. And I find when I am abandoned to what He wants, versus what I want, that He and I are on the same page. It is when I don’t seek what He wants or believe what He has already told me that I can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. With each step away from the open end of the tunnel, it gets darker and darker—unless I remember the beacon of Hope. The one that serves as an anchor in the storm and the one that never changes, even if the storm does.

So, there is this Hope set before me, the likes of which were laid there by an all powerful God Who can not lie and Who promises this expectant prize at the end of it all—that prize?

“She is responding, beat up and hurting, deserving death, but offerings of life instead” Shane & Shane “Acres of Hope”

About a year ago, this song shuffled on my phone, I had never heard it before. The lyrics of this song stopped me in my tracks, as countless times I have put this song on repeat as Shane and Shane chronicle the story of the prostitute who has been an outcast, put out into the wilderness, and left alone to deal with the consequences of her behavior. But, the Lord speaks to her and brings her back to the “Door of Hope”. He pursues her; He forgives her; He gives her Hope

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life”

Proverbs 13:12

Everything inside of me wants to rail against this verse, because, at the moment, I don’t understand it. “Hope deferred” seems like an oxymoron, as the very definition of “hope” is that “something better is coming, or is waiting for me”

Am I wrong?

By definition, “hope” seems to always be deferred. The act of waiting for something better is both good and bad; it can get us through the darkest of days, but that forward looking can also make us miss today. I have missed a lot of “todays” waiting for “better days” and as those words land on the page, I am deeply saddened by all that I have missed looking forward to what will be.

Because most of my life has been spent in survival mode, I can honestly say that the only “hope” I look forward to is that day when there will be no more sadness, no more tears, no more pain—I am not sure that I can imagine a life without pain. That being said, I am living a life that is profoundly more abundant than I could imagine, so this idea of “hope” is one that I look forward to exploring.

What is the “door of Hope”, what does that even mean? The story outlined in Hosea is a beautiful one, it is messy, it’s painful, and it’s not different from our own. The thought of God pursuing me is a crazy one, and it makes me wonder, if He is chasing me, and I respond, is that the longing fulfilled with the tree of life is “like” the tree of life?

Fewer emotions will make an impact like disappointment. Is “hope deferred” the things that disappoint us? The dreams that are not fulfilled, the things we don’t have, or the things that we do? What is the proper response to disappointment? Can we understand that disappointment is temporary but that Hope is forever? Would we be disappointed less often if we turned around and waited for Him to catch us in His pursuit of us?

“He will allure her, he will pursue her, call her out to wilderness with flowers in His hand”

Turn around, look, is He there? Are you like me and you are so focused on “better days” that we forget that He is right THERE?

“Here in the valley, walk close beside me, don’t look back, for Love is growing in vineyards just ahead”

Perhaps the greatest form of our faith is turning around and living with the Hope that is right there, all the time, He promised to never leave us or forsake us. He encourages us by asking us “what can separate us from the love of God?” while we may not deserve the bad things that come our way, the reality is we are not super worthy of anything good either. That being said, we were given a huge gift that was sealed when Jesus took the price for our sin on the cross. But that isn’t all! Our Hope is walking right beside us; it is not deferred. And for that reason, my heart doesn’t need to be sick, Hope is right here, right now. I am looking forward to exploring this concept of Hope and how it is not as elusive as we think. It feels elusive, but it isn’t.

I think every fiber of my being was in complete orchestra mode as they prepped me for yet ANOTER GI procedure. I used to be able to get through those things with no problem, but as I have learned to value myself more, I find myself like a normal person and don’t want to be taken off the planet…yet anyway.

It has been a journey, finding and wanting to stay alive on this planet, but not only stay alive, but to THRIVE. So this procedure yesterday was largely inconvenient and had every nerve in my body firing off at the same time.

Trying to act brave, I just shook my head when they asked questions, because I knew if I were to talk I would lose it. I was scared to death. Scared of the unknown, and of course, thinking about all of the things that led me to having to be under constant monitoring by doctors anyway.

One of the nurses must have noticed that I was scared. She came around to the opposite side of the bed and started rubbing my arm, and telling me “the hardest part of this was getting here, we do this all the time, we are going to take good care of you”. As soon as she started doing that (and of course putting in medicine into my iv) I was flushed with what must be as close as you can get to perfect peace. The nerves stopped in their tracks, I couldn’t worry about what was going to happen, all was well.

I have struggled on how to end this series on Peace, because I don’t feel like I have learned enough yet. And maybe that is the perfect reason to close it. What yesterday reminded me of is all of the times I have gotten through life, and look back later and am rendered completely in awe of how I got from point A to point B. It is remarkable and some would argue “it passes all understanding”.

I am reminded of the popular poem “Footprints” where the story of Jesus and a man are walking along the beach and suddenly the man only sees one set of footprints. When he asks Jesus where the other set are, Jesus simply answers: “it is then that I carried you”. I look back on traumatic events of my life and even how the last decade has been and I see lots of single footprint stretches of the beach. When I try to articulate how I got through those early days after my divorce, I can only say to you “I don’t know because I didn’t walk it”.

I will tell you that I was way too traumatized to pick up a book on peace or the right kind of juice at the store for that matter. I didn’t ask Him to carry me, I didn’t ask Him to give me providential amnesia, but He did. And I believe that is because of the prayers of others on my behalf. Praying for peace is the kindest thing you can do for another person. Because when you have “peace that passes all understanding” there is this beautiful opportunity to have an audience with your one true King. He wants that so badly for us, yet we forget, get tired, give up, or simply believed we have used up all of our chips with God, except there isn’t a limit with Him, He promises to follow us all the days or our lives.

So as I fumble around this life, worrying about this, and fretting about that, I want to remember that precious promise in Is 26:3…”I will keep you in perfect peace because your mind is stayed on me; because you trust in me”.

How hard can it be? Hasn’t He proven Himself more than able? Yes, He absolutely has. And, yet, I still forget to keep my focus on Him, nothing else works without Him, life doesn’t work; relationships don’t work; NOTHING works. And when the bad news comes, the favor feels withheld, I am so fast to take the reins back from Him because He has not proven Himself faithful, and surely I can do better than Him.

Except I can’t, and I don’t want to. We have learned that Peace in the Bible, is pretty much the same no matter where you read it Quiet, without conflict, calmly happy. I have come to learn that Peace is a benefit to constantly abiding in Him, keeping my eyes set on Him, because nothing else matters. At All.

But there are days, I feel like maybe He is on to somebody else, and I take it all back, and fail miserably, feel miserable and then question if He is a loving God.

But, it is there, all I have to do is take it. And all the nerves will calm because His soft touch telling me the hardest part was getting to Him, and that He does this all the time, and that He is going to take good care of me.

If I could just stay THERE..

Thank you for those of you who have read this series on Peace, after the holidays we will move on to Hope.

Harmony. Our very beings crave it. We crave the predictability of the sunrise, and the assurance that it will also set, often in grand fashion. We hear it in the crashing of the waves of every body of water on the planet. Our souls crave structure, we crave rest; and when we have that rest, we are often the very best versions of ourselves.

Harmony in music is universally adored. When at it’s best, a piece of music highlighting harmonizing tones, can stop all of us in our tracks. It is a sweet sound to our ears, and when lyrically relevant to our lives, a balm for weary souls. It can make us dance, or tap our foot and sing along- because harmony is beautiful, and humans crave beauty. Harmony drowns out a noisy world that can often be described as clashing symbols, sounds that are unsettling and stirs up confusion and unrest. We crave harmony.

In a continuance of his letter to the Romans, Paul uses almost the entire chapter (12) to teach them how they can live in harmony; how they can cultivate harmony- how they can maintain harmony. The verse we highlight here is verse 18-“For as much as it depends on you, live at peace with all men”. The word “peace” here is the Greek word for “harmony”. So, Paul was telling them, for as much as it possibly was within their reach to live in beautiful harmony with all men.

There are so many reasons this is almost an impossible task. The least of which is others don’t often share this desire—to live a peace, or in harmony-with those around them. Some people absolutely thrive off of conflict, and for those of us who avoid it at all cost, it can be difficult to live in harmony with those people. And then all that is within us that craves harmony cries out, often in a deafening silence, for peace, sweet peace. We want what can only be described the absence of conflict.

Paul wasn’t writing to a group of people constantly connected by social media where they could hide behind computers in their hands-where opinions are as prevalent as humanly possible. He wasn’t speaking to a group of people as different as they were the same. He was speaking to a group of people, who, presumably, at their best, wanted to live a peace with each other. Yet, Paul spends this entire chapter telling them how to live at peace with each other. And even though we could argue that it is, perhaps, more difficult to live a peace with each other in our connected world, we still have the same commandment to do so; so how do we do this, how do we live at peace with those around us, especially those who have no desire to live at peace with us?

He encouraged them to love with sincerity (v9). He encouraged them to hate evil and cling to good.

He encouraged them to remain devoted to one another, and to honor others above our selves. (v10)

He encouraged them to remain zealous- keeping fervor for the things of God. (v11)

He encouraged them to remain joyful in hope; patient in affliction and faithful in prayer (v12)

He encouraged them to bless those that persecute. (v14)

He encouraged them to rejoice with those that rejoice, and to mourn with those that mourn (v15)

He encouraged them to live at harmony with all men by not being proud and willing to associate with those that they may have deemed “lesser” than they. (v16)

He encouraged them not to keep record of wrong doings. Not to repay evil with evil. (v17)

And then–the verse –“as much as it is possible, live a peace with all men”. On the surface, it does seem impossible to live at peace (or in harmony) with those around us. Because we all have people in our lives that almost thrive off of conflict. But Paul outlined for them ways for them succeed in living in harmony with all of those around them.

I love passages of scripture like this. I envision a trip to the beach and a bucket full of sand with beautiful seashells mixed in the sand. In order to separate the beautiful shells from the sand (noise) it is necessary to run it through a screen, a screen that separates out the two. I think if we were to follow Paul’s advice outlined in Romans chapter 12, we would stand a great chance of succeeding in living in harmony, or a peace with those around us, if we took the time to filter out the noise, so often clothed in conflict of insincere love, lack of zeal or pride. If we were to commit to living a life that is dedicated to screening out the noise, we would find that we are able to live in harmony with those around us and it is much easier than we think. The question is this: do we want to live at harmony with those around us?

That may seem like a question that is obvious. But, the reality is, if we can place “blame” on others then we do not have to be accountable to our own relationships with both God and people. It is always easier to blame others. But if we want our Jesus to be highlighted in a world that is nothing in the hemisphere of harmonious, we have to lay down our pride. We have to seek peace with those around us.

So, for as much as it is within you, today, live at peace with those around you. And when you do that, you will be able to focus on the Perfect Peace that keeps our minds and hearts quiet, and our focus on the ultimate Peace Maker. And let’s not forget the price that was paid so that we can live in peace, and worship the One who gives it to us when we don’t deserve it.